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Shonda Rhimes in the New York Times

It was probably inevitable that Shonda Rhimes would create Grey’s Anatomy, ABC’s runaway hit about the romantic entanglements and complicated lives of surgeons and their overworked interns at a Seattle hospital. For two years during high school, she worked as a candy striper.

"I loved that job. I’m perfectly comfortable in hospitals," Rhimes told the New York Times.

She also admits to having a passion for shows about medical procedures: the pressure, the blood, the scalpels, Rhimes finds it all intriguing.

"I love to watch all those surgeries on the Discovery Channel and the Learning Channel. I’m a surgical junkie," she said.

Apparently Rhimes is not the only one.

Her show’s mixture of medicine, drama and sex has proved such a winning formula that more than 25 millionviewers tuned in last week to watch its season premiere. Since its debut in 2005, it's been one of TV's top-rated series, and the network signed Rhimes to a two-year, $10 million deal.

But the biggest sign of the show’s success is ABC’s decision to move it from Sunday nights following Desperate Housewives to Thursday nights, where it is now going head to head with CBS’s popular crime series CSI, whose premiere drew three million fewer viewers than Grey’s Anatomy.

"It’s an amazing vote of confidence, and I was thrilled that the guys at ABC think that we can anchor a night," Rhimes said.

Her accomplishment is particularly noteworthy in a field that is still dominated by white males, said Ron Simon, a curator at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York.

"She’s the only black woman show runner on a dramatic show at this point on the major networks. It’s a tremendous achievement for a woman, African-American or otherwise," he said.

At her office in the residential Los Feliz neighborhood, where lawns are perfectly manicured and homes are tastefully understated, Rhimes, 36, sat in front of a computer tweaking a script for a future episode.

Posters of some of the films Rhimes had written before coming to television hung on the walls: Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Crossroads, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge -- the latter, a TV biopic, won Halle Berry both an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

Rhimes admits she was a bit surprised by the popularity of Grey’s Anatomy, which revolves around a surgical intern, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), and her on-again, off-again love affair with Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), the neurosurgeon nicknamed Dr. McDreamy.

"I knew that I really liked it, my friends liked it, my family liked it, but it never occurred to me that stuff I came up with at home in my pajamas people would respond to," she said. "It’s all still surreal to me.'

She says that writing for TV is more demanding than writing for movies.

"Before, I would write one or two movies a year, which means I’d work two months out of the year. Television is 24 hours, seven days a week, and I never thought I’d like something like this, but I love it. It’s such an adrenaline rush," Rhimes said.

Learning to collaborate with a team of writers was an adjustment. Krista Vernoff, a writer, recalled Rhimes’s first day on the set.

"There was, of course, Shonda who had never been in a writer’s room before and who lurked outside the door, brooding and disturbed like maybe we were all vampires who would eat her soul if she stepped foot inside," Vernoff said.

Rhimes acknowledged her initial trepidation.

"The concept of sitting in a room with a bunch of people and spilling out the ideas in my head seemed a little exhausting, and it seemed antithetical to the process by which I work, but now it doesn’t feel that way at all," she said. "I became incredibly grateful for my staff of writers really quickly."

People who work with Rhimes have noticed her changed demeanor.

"She’s always been very sure of what she believes and very clear about what she wants to say, but her confidence has grown, and I’m really watching her evolve into an incredible show runner and executive producer," said Betsy Beers, an executive producer on the show. "It’s been kind of astonishing."

What hasn’t changed is Rhimes’ commitment to having an ethnically diverse cast, which includes a black chief of surgery, a black chief resident and Asian and Hispanic interns as well as various white characters.

"We had everyone of every color read for every single part, and it was about casting the best actor in the room. I don’t think a lot of shows do that, but it just makes sense to me," she said.

That diversity, she said, makes writing a bit easier for her.

"If you have a show in which there’s only one character of color — which is what most shows do — then you have a weird obligation to make that person slightly saintly because they are representing all the people of color. But if you have all different races, people get to be good or bad, flawed, selfish, competitive," she explained.

Growing up the youngest of six children in Chicago, Rhimes preferred books to watching television. Her mother, a professor of education administration at DePaul University, and her father, an administrator at Ohio State University, encouraged her to read anything on the family’s bookshelf.

"I read everything from Nancy Drew and ‘Secret Garden’ to ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’ when I was 10," Rhimes said.

She graduated from Dartmouth with a degree in English literature and creative writing and landed a job in advertising. After a year, she decided she hated it and enrolled in film school at the University of Southern California.

"I loved it immediately," she said. "I discovered that this is what I wanted to do."

In the mid-to-late 90’s, she sold her first screenplay, Human Seeking Same, about a couple who fall in love through the personal ads. The movie was never made, but the mid-six-figure check she received made it possible for her to write full time.

It wasn’t until Rhimes adopted a child, Harper, now 4, that she spent time at home and really watching television.

"I realized a lot of the really good character development is happening on TV," said Ms. Rhimes, who was huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "The language was great, the world was great, and you completely invested in those characters. I’m still not over its cancellation."

In 2002 she wrote a script for a television series that followed the lives of a group of war correspondents; it was not picked up.

"They drank a lot and had a lot of sex, and the war was always sort of secondary," said Rhimes, who adds she is looking into reviving the project. "So when we suddenly went to war, it seemed in poor taste to have a show about people having fun covering war."

Rhimes once watched three films a day in the theaters, but hasn’t been to the movies in three years. When she does have a spare moment from Grey’s Anatomy (which is rare) she prefers watching television shows like Lost, Project Runway and Weeds.

"I’m freakishly obsessed with the American version of The Office," she added.

She is fiercely protective of her show’s plot points, refusing to divulge any details about the new season. Will Meredith end up with McDreamy for good?

"I’ve always been a person who hated spoilers," she said, shrugging. "If you already know what’s happening on a show, why are you watching it?"

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You can't bring Washington back now but you do need another black male intern in the cast. To send Washington packing and to not replace him was cruel. This is one writer speaking to another, Shonda.

ana•June 11, 2007 01:33

I WANT HIM BACK ON THE SHOWWHES SUCH A MAIN CHARACTER HOW COULD U DO THTA?and i agree with what sara from above said

ana•June 11, 2007 01:30

WHY DID U FIRE ISAIAH WASHINGTONN?????

Skunklionshow•February 23, 2007 22:13

Re: Ferry Hell Pt. 3Shonda,I am deeply touched by the way Meredith explained her "fleeting" w/ suicidality. As a person that has suffered w/ clinical depression most of her life, I understand the feeling of wanting to feel "nothing" just for a moment. Unfortunately w/ depression that moment is more often than desired. I was in tears watching her admit this to Denny. I told my spouse..."yeah that's it". I've just never seen it explained so well w/ so few words.Thanks!

Philip Clark•January 23, 2007 03:31

Regarding Isaiaha Washington's use of the term "faggot": This man deserves to be fired. I have never seen the show--nor do I know any of his work. But if I used this word at work or in public--I would be fired. It is as hurtful in the gay community as "the N word" is the the African American community. He should be ashamed--and fired. If he isnt--both ABC and Shonda Rhimes, as the people principally responsible for his employment--should be held responsible.

Sara•January 22, 2007 21:52

If I Washington is fired for this I will no longer watch Greys Anatomy. I am sure TR and other cast mates have used raicial slurs ibehind closed doors Mr Washington had the misfortune of this going to the media. and for Katherine Heigl to say he should not speak in public well that takes me back to the civil rights

Ursula•January 22, 2007 14:58

Ms. Rhimes, Please whatever you do don't make any hasty moves on Dr. Burke. I think the show would lose it's appeal to the audience it targets. Not to mention, we are comfortable with the cast that is in place please allow the apology to take affect and then way the pros/cons at a later date. i'm of this opinion "Stuff Just Happens, Life Just happens." Let's move on PLEASE.

Gloria Parks•January 16, 2007 04:02

Dear Shonda, Thank you, Thank you for the most incredible show I have seen in years. I have been a fan from day one and have not missed an episode. I even watch the reruns over and over, and on life time on Sunday nites at 11:00pm. The writing is superior. I am praying that Grey's stays at the top of it's game for at least 10 years. The cast is perfect,and I hope sometime soon Derek and Merideth get married. and have a baby. I SOOoo Love him . (Seriously) ( A Fan)

Bonnie M•October 03, 2006 23:31

Shonda is awesome she's one of the best things to happen to television in a long time. I can't wait to see her other show she is working on.

Derek: I am calling post-it, Zola, Bailey, the tumors on the wall, ferryboat scrub caps. I thought D.C. was everything. I was wrong. You... you're everything. I love you and I'm not going to stop loving you. I can't live without you. I don't want to live without you, and I'm going to do everything in my power to prove it. Meredith: I can live without you, but I don't want to. I don't ever want to.